Mill Creek staff on Sept. 18 presented proposed amendments to the city’s Planned Area/Planned Residential Development (PRD/PAD) rules to allow more flexibility for infill and constrained parcels.

Planner Jeff Ryan said planned area developments permit modifications to certain zoning standards—setbacks, lot sizes or density—when a proposal demonstrates public benefits such as natural-resources preservation or improved site layout. “As Mill Creek has matured, there's less outward expansion and more infill development,” Ryan said, and the code’s existing minimum‑size threshold makes some infill sites undevelopable under the current rules.

What staff proposed: amend Chapter 16.12 to (1) update and clarify applicability language, (2) reduce the PRD minimum size from 2.5 acres to 1.5 acres for residential planned developments, and (3) clarify that the burden of proof for eligibility and permitted modifications rests with the applicant. Staff said changes to section references and obsolete cross-references will also be removed.

Why it matters: staff said lowering the minimum size will bring a constrained set of parcels into eligibility for planned developments, enabling negotiated solutions (for example: requiring ground-floor commercial along a planned “Spine Road” while allowing additional housing behind it). Staff cited two recurring redevelopment challenges: a narrow, commercially zoned lot near the highway with limited access and low commercial demand, and a small parcel adjacent to a paper street (130th/Spine Road) near the farm/senior center where ground-floor commercial requirements have prevented projects from “penciling out.”

Timeline and process: staff said City Council will hold a study session on Sept. 23, and the Planning Commission will receive a final draft and hold a public hearing at its next meeting; staff aim for council adoption Nov. 4. No amendments were adopted at the Sept. 18 meeting; the presentation was a staff briefing and opened for commissioner questions.

Commissioner questions: commissioners asked how staff selected 1.5 acres (staff said that size captures the largest number of constrained parcels without removing all minimums and noted nearby cities such as Bothell have no minimum). Commissioners also asked whether adding housing would help ground-floor commercial tenancy; staff said adding residential rooftops near commercial areas should increase foot traffic and could improve leasing prospects but that market factors and economic cycles affect outcomes.

What was not decided: staff did not rezone any parcels or adopt code amendments at the meeting. The proposed change would alter applicability and eligibility for planned developments; it is subject to the Planning Commission’s recommendation and City Council adoption.